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Homemade Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread is the perfect way to get a crunchy crust and a soft and fluffy interior. We cook our skillet cornbread on the grill at high heat for the perfect touch of outdoor flavor, and finish it with a drizzle of smoked honey for a sweet finish.
Table of Contents
Styles
Cornbread generally comes in two categories: Traditional cornbread mix with flour, and cornbread mix without flour.
Cornbread without flour is a very typical style, and a more traditional way to make it, especially in the south. Slightly crumbly, this style is awesome with a soup, stew or chili. Many of the southern styles are naturally gluten free.
Our cast iron skillet cornbread recipe focuses on adding a small amount of flour to give a little more density to the cornbread and less flakiness (and a softer interior). It’s almost to the consistency of a light cake on the inside (with a crunchy crust on the outside from cooking in the cast iron). This provides a texture we enjoy and also helps retain moisture.
Ingredients + Substitutions
- Cornmeal – Most cornmeal is naturally gluten free. You can use yellow or white or white cornmeal.
- All Purpose Flour – We do not recommend higher protein bread flours.
- Cane Sugar
- Baking Powder – Helps with rise and structure.
- Kosher Salt – Do not use iodized table salt.
- Cinnamon
- Buttermilk
- Eggs
- Canned Green Chilies – Use the liquid in the can as well, don’t toss it out. For more heat you can use the hot version.
- Unsalted Butter – split one stick, half will be melted for the mix and half used for the cast iron pan. If you don’t want to use butter you can substitute with an oil. But we recommend butter for flavor.
- Honey – You can use regular honey or smoked honey.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Gluten Free
Most cornmeal’s are gluten free. Use a 1:1 gluten free flour mix like Bob’s Red Mill with the same measurements to make gluten free.
What If I Don’t Have Buttermilk?
We love to use buttermilk in our cornbread. It’s a taste preference, and we’ve always done it that way. But if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, there’s no need to rush out to the store to buy some! Here is a buttermilk alternative.
- Add 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar to 1 cup of milk (we prefer whole milk for its richness, but you can also use 2% if that’s what you have).
- Stir them together and let it sit for 10 minutes.
You can read this useful article for more information on the process.
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How to Make Skillet Cornbread
We are making ours on the grill. If you want an oven modification set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and follow the same directions.
- Preheat Grill: Start by preheating the grill to 400 – 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Use two zone or direct/indirect heat. This prevents the pan from scorching and burning the cornbread.
- Get Skillet Hot: As the grill preheats, place your 10-inch cast iron pan onto the grill to warm up. While the grill and skillet warm up, make the cornbread mix.
- Prepare Cornbread Mix: In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients: cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder, and mix. In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients: buttermilk, eggs, green chilies (with the liquid), and half a stick of softened butter, and mix them together. Slowly add the dry mix into the wet mix to incorporate.
- Heat Butter: add the other half of the stick of butter into the hot cast iron skillet on the grill. As it melts move the skillet around to distribute the butter (oiling the pan).
- Cook Cornbread: Add the cornbread mix into the butter-oiled skillet and then cook on the grill for 30-40 minutes or until it is done. Adding the butter to the hot pan helps to caramelize that batter touching the pan.
- Remove the skillet cornbread when you insert a knife or toothpick into the center of the cornbread and it comes out clean with no batter attached. Drizzle with smoked honey (or a dollop of honey butter).
Smoked Honey Drizzle
Typically you’ll see cornbread served with a dollop of butter. We like to add a little sweet touch by adding smoked honey.
Just take the smoked honey and drizzle over the top of the cornbread just as it comes off the grill. As it cools it soaks into the cornbread adding a little more sweet.
If you don’t have smoked honey, any regular honey works. Simply drizzle over the top of the cornbread. Alternatively you can use smoked honey butter. Or use hot honey for a little spice and fun flavor.
Recipe FAQs + Troubleshooting
Cast Iron is a great medium for even distribution of heat. A well seasoned cast iron pan is also nonstick. With the butter and fat content, cornbread is a great recipe for keeping a pan seasoned.
If using the oven you can use a Pyrex dish or other oven safe pan. If using a grill you can use carbon steel or stainless steel if using two-zone grilling. But be sure both are well oiled or buttered. DO NOT use a Pyrex style glass dish on a grill, it will shatter from the heat.
There are two main reasons – the cast iron skillet may be too hot or it may not be seasoned enough. That is why we always add more butter into a pre-heated skillet before adding the mix.
What Should I Serve With Cornbread
About Vindulge
Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.
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Skillet Cornbread Recipe on the Grill
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups cornmeal (gluten free)
- 3/4 cups all purpose flour, (we used Bob's Red Mill gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour)
- 2 tablespoons cane sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 4-oz can green chilies
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted , (the butter should be separated, half of it melted for the batter, half of it for hot skillet)
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons smoked honey, (regular honey works well too)
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to 425 degrees Fahrenheit using two zone method or on indirect heat. Place 10-inch cast iron skillet in the grill to get hot while the grill heats up.
- In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and mix. In a separate bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, green chilies, and half a stick of melted butter and mix.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl while stirring. Once all the dry ingredients are in the bowl, mix a few more turns to remove any lumps. Don't over mix.
- In the preheated cast iron pan, add the remaining half stick of butter and stir to coat the entire pan and sides. The pan will be hot (so use a glove or thick towel). We use a towel to do this by hand by moving the pan around in a circular motion. Pour the batter into the pan and then grill for 30-40 minutes.
- The cornbread is done when you insert a toothpick or knife into the center of the cornbread and it comes out clean. Immediately drizzle the honey over the cornbread as it cools. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into the cornbread.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
